modified	Saturday 9 May 2026

Edited: Saturday 9 May 2026

XLog Extensions ¶

XLog includes 38 built-in extensions that add features for knowledge bases, content creation, and developer workflows. All extensions are enabled by default (see Usage to disable specific ones).

Knowledge Base Extensions ¶

These extensions are specifically designed for building interconnected knowledge bases:

Extension	Description
Backlinks (Autolink pages)	Automatically converts page name mentions to links. Creates bidirectional links between pages without manual linking. Core feature for networked knowledge.
Hashtags	Add support for hashtag syntax. Organize notes by topic, browse all pages with a specific tag. Essential for categorization.
Search	Full-text search across all pages. Find content instantly without browsing.
Recent	Lists pages ordered by last modified date. Track recent activity and writing progress.
Star	Pin important pages to footer. Keep frequently accessed pages readily available.
Date	Detects dates and links to timeline pages. See all pages mentioning a specific date.
Embed	Shortcode to embed one page inside another. Transclude content across pages.

Content Creation Extensions ¶

Enhance your writing with rich media and formatting:

Extension	Description
Photos	Lists images in a directory Instagram-style. Great for photo journals.
Images	Display consecutive images in columns side-by-side instead of stacked.
Upload file	Upload files, screenshots, audio recordings, and camera photos directly.
Link preview	Preview tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos, Giphy links inline.
MathJax	Support mathematical notation with $ (inline) and $$ (blocks).
Mermaid	Create diagrams and flowcharts using MermaidJS syntax.
TOC	Automatic table of contents for long pages.

Writing & Editing Extensions ¶

Tools for the writing workflow:

Extension	Description
Editor	Opens pages in your desktop text editor (Vim, VS Code, Emacs, etc.). Core editing feature.
Hotreload	Automatically reloads page when file changes on disk. Instant preview of edits.
Frontmatter	YAML frontmatter support for metadata (title, tags, properties).
Todo	Toggle checkboxes while viewing without edit mode. Interactive task management.
File operations	Delete and rename pages from the UI.
Heading	Renders headings as linkable anchors.

Developer & Advanced Extensions ¶

For technical documentation and advanced use cases:

Extension	Description
Blocks	Define custom blocks using YAML code blocks. Extensible content types.
Shortcode	One-line and block shortcodes for custom functionality.
sql_table	Query long tables with SQL. Interactive data exploration.
Github	“Edit on GitHub” quick action for collaborative documentation.
PGP	Encrypt/decrypt .md.pgp files using GPG. Secure private notes.
LiveCodes	Embed interactive code playgrounds in pages. Supports 90+ languages/frameworks.

Format Support Extensions ¶

Support for additional file formats beyond markdown:

Extension	Description
HTML	Treat HTML files as pages (.html, .htm, .xhtml).
Pandoc	Render .org, .rst, .rtf, .odt files using Pandoc.

Publishing & Integration Extensions ¶

Deploy and integrate with external services:

Extension	Description
RSS	RSS feed at `/+/feed.rss`, added to page headers.
Sitemap	sitemap.xml for search engine crawling.
Opengraph	Open Graph meta tags for social media previews.
Manifest	Web app manifest.json for PWA support.
ActivityPub	Webfinger and ActivityPub actor for Fediverse integration.
Disqus	Add Disqus comments to pages.
Giscus	Add Giscus comments powered by GitHub Discussions.

Formatting Extensions ¶

Improve text rendering and display:

Extension	Description
Autolink	Shorten long link strings to save space.
RTL	Proper text direction for right-to-left languages.

Custom Content Extensions ¶

Add arbitrary HTML to pages:

Extension	Description
Custom Widget	Inject custom HTML in `<head>`, before, or after page content.

Extension Showcase ¶

Backlinks in Action ¶

When you mention [Another Page](/Another_Page) in your markdown:

1This concept relates to [Graph Theory](/Graph_Theory) and [Network Effects](/Network_Effects).

XLog automatically:

Creates clickable links to those pages
Shows on “Graph Theory” that this page links to it (backlink)
Builds a knowledge graph of relationships

Hashtags for Organization ¶

Use hashtags to categorize:

1# My Research Notes
2
3This is about #machine-learning and #neural-networks.
4
5Some thoughts on #attention-mechanisms in transformers.

Click any hashtag to see all pages tagged with it.

Search Everything ¶

Press Ctrl+K or click Search to find any content across your knowledge base instantly.

Live Preview Workflow ¶

Click “Edit” on any page
Opens in your configured editor (Vim, VS Code, etc.)
Make changes and save
Browser automatically reloads with updated content
No manual refresh needed

Giscus Comments ¶

Enable GitHub Discussions-powered comments on your pages:

1xlog -giscus-repo "owner/repo" \
2     -giscus-repo-id "R_kgDOG1234" \
3     -giscus-category "Announcements" \
4     -giscus-category-id "DIC_kwDOG5678" \
5     -giscus-mapping "pathname" \
6     -giscus-theme "preferred_color_scheme" \
7     -giscus-lang "en"

To get your repository and category IDs, visit giscus.app and follow the configuration wizard. You’ll need:

A public GitHub repository with Discussions enabled
The giscus app installed on that repository
A Discussion category (recommended: Announcements type)

Optional parameters:

-giscus-mapping: How to match pages to discussions (pathname, url, title, og:title)
-giscus-theme: Visual theme (light, dark, preferred_color_scheme, etc.)
-giscus-lang: Interface language (en, ar, zh, etc.)

LiveCodes Interactive Playgrounds ¶

Embed live, interactive code playgrounds using LiveCodes. Add livecodes to code fence:

 1```jsx livecodes
 2import { useState } from "react";
 3
 4export default function Counter() {
 5  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
 6  return (
 7    <div>
 8      <p>You clicked {count} times</p>
 9      <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Click me</button>
10    </div>
11  );
12}
13```

Supports 90+ languages including JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust, and more. Optional parameters:

height=500px - Set playground height
console=open - Show console panel (open, closed, full)
theme=light - Set theme (light, dark)
editor=monaco - Choose editor type

Example with parameters:

1```python livecodes console=open height=400px
2def fibonacci(n):
3    if n <= 1:
4        return n
5    return fibonacci(n-1) + fibonacci(n-2)
6
7print([fibonacci(i) for i in range(10)])
8```

See LiveCodes documentation for details.

Disabling Extensions ¶

To disable specific extensions:

1xlog -disabled-extensions "photos,videos,activitypub"

Comma-separated list of extension names (case-sensitive, use lowercase).

Extension Architecture ¶

Extensions use defined extension points to add functionality. See extensions.md for developer documentation on creating custom extensions.

All built-in extensions are defined under /extensions and automatically imported in cmd/xlog/xlog.go.

Most Valuable Extensions for Knowledge Bases ¶

If you’re building a personal wiki or digital garden, these extensions provide the core experience:

Backlinks - Automatic bidirectional linking
Hashtags - Topic organization
Search - Find anything instantly
Recent - Track writing activity
Editor - Edit in your preferred tool
Hotreload - Instant preview
Star - Pin important pages

Together, these create a powerful knowledge base system that rivals dedicated tools like Roam Research or Obsidian, while keeping all your data in portable markdown files.